Remarks, let me share some.

Remarks are the things we say about a conversation, situation or the comments we make regarding what we have just witnessed or experienced. These "remarks" can either carry with them the weight of the world, or they could be the lifting encouragement that your spirit so desperately needed. For those who read this column regularly you know I have an option and I am thinking something all the time. Opinions are great to think about, consider and review. Opinions are perfect for testing conditions, beliefs and situations. Of course these past two statements are all self reflective opinions and not necessarily fact. There you go, a disclaimer all ready! Life regarding our remarks is just like a disclaimer isn't it? We have an opinion, we have thoughts but they should be heard relative to the situation, context, and understood from our point view.
The things we say really matter. I am of the opinion that most folks consider what they say to have no matter at all. My reason for believing such is because I hear people say things about people, situations, and events that I am not convinced they realize have an impact on others. Words are a powerful tool. Actions are also a handy tool and companion mate for words as well. These two go hand-in-hand and when used with consideration and thought, they have an amazing positive impact, even when shared to help others grow or see more clearly. However, the opposite is just as true. Remarks can set people back, and it even appears to sometimes be what me might call a deadly blow to self esteem, confidence, and vision. Not sure what you consider your role to be in society, at church, among your friends, or at work, but I believe mine should be one that is positive, provides encouragement and yes that includes a challenge too.
Everyday as we walk and talk we have a chance with our interactions with people to help write a new verse. Walt Whitman wrote that we each have a chance in the powerful play of life to contribute, make a difference, be a part, and to coin his words exactly, "write a verse". When you look out and see something happening do you turn your head, act as if you didn't see it, or just ignore it altogether? I have shared with the blessings of my life that there are 4 things that help to mold us as individuals. I have quoted these 4 for so long that I have forgotten where I even heard them, but I claim them as truths to live by for certain. The books you read, the people you meet, the places you go and the experiences you have. These truths I have shared in motivational talks with First Priority at their club meetings, devotions with sports teams, and even in sermons. I have discovered my life is different because of these 4 things alone and consider these remarks for what they are, mine, but remarks that have changed me.
The biggest decision I have personally ever made in my lifetime remains to be the moment that I asked Jesus Christ to come into my life! I remember it still just like I remember the first time I believed that Jesus loved me. Now these two experiences may seem like the same thing but they are not. I first believed that Jesus loved me because of the songs I learned at Vacation Bible School. It was the combination of my grandmother, Stella Mills, and her front porch singing and the efforts of Bill Cox from the First Baptist Spartanburg, South Carolina. That moment happened at Fields, Kentucky in an area simply known as Crocket. It was in a little room where we were making a summer craft that I painted in blue and gray. I remember the moment so well. It was the simply chorus "Jesus in the morning, Jesus in the noon time, Jesus when the sun goes down" that was helping to turn my mind and thoughts. I believed that Jesus loved me from 1971 on, but it would be a few years later until I would make that decision to ask Jesus to come into my heart. I made that decision then because I knew beyond any shadow of doubt I could clearly hear Jesus speaking to me.
Remarks, yes I have a few to share. They are absolutely from my experiences. I have read books to confirm and challenge my way of thinking about faith, church, and Jesus. People have walked in and out of my life that have played huge roles and had tremendous impacts on me, and the ministry that God has given me. I have been blessed to travel to spot all around the world, but the biggest travel that has changed me has been through the doors of homes that have been opened to me here at home. People, places, books and experiences. All working to make me what I ought to be. It took him just a week to make the moon and the starts and Jupiter and Mars, but He is still working on me.
For Christians this is a perfect day and time to thing about the things we say, the comments we make and the impression we leave with folks we meet, talk to, and even those watching from a far. For you reading who may have already arrived at the conclusion that Jesus loves you, but you have yet to make the next move, consider this last remark. What He did for me, He will do for you.

Until then